Sho did a lot of things for love…even dress up like a girl even though he most certainly wasn't.

Sho was a boy. He was a boy who liked boys but he was still a boy. Just because he liked boys, like girls were supposed to, that didn't mean that he was one. That didn't mean that he wanted to wear makeup and dresses and play with dolls and watch movies about kissing and stuff like that. He just liked boys, that was all, and that didn't mean that he had to be anything other than Sho. The book that Minegishi gave him said so.

Maybe he needed to lend that book to big sis.

"Wow, I can't believe that the Anna dress still fits on you. This is so great." Said Mob as she pulled her Anna dress down over Sho's head. Now they could be Elsa and Anna for Halloween…this was so great! Well, alright, her Elsa dress was still way too small but she had a blue shirt and skirt and Minegishi could probably braid her hair like Elsa's, they knew a lot about hair, and also she had some clip on braids that Sho could wear….this was going to be so great!

"Yeah….it's great….can I take this off now?" asked Sho as he pulled up the dress. At least she let him wear pants under this thing. Still, he didn't want to wear this. They were supposed to be getting ready for the party and he already had a costume. Well he had a t-shirt that said 'cheap ass Halloween costume' on it in English and that sort of counted, right? It didn't matter, Shimazaki thought that it was funny, that was what mattered the most.

"What? Take it off? No, we're going to be Elsa and Anna." Said Mob. This was the perfect costumed idea. She knew that Sho didn't always like to play the Shoko game with her but…well it was Halloween. This was a holiday about wearing costumes and eating candy…and some other stuff about druids that Minegishi told her about…but mostly about costumes and candy. She loved costumes and candy and Sho….well he loved candy and also this was a good time to play the Shoko game since it was a costume day. She thought so, anyway, Sho didn't seem to think so though.

"What did you just say?" asked Sho. Maybe Fukuda was right and listening to music really loud with headphones on had destroyed his hearing and stuff. That was the only thing that made sense. Big sis…she didn't actually expected him to wear this dress…out in public…at a party…where Shimazaki could see him….

Wait, no.

First of all Shimazaki couldn't see, that was something Sho had known for years at this point and he had no idea how he could have forgotten, and second of all Shimazaki said that he had trouble seeing clothes…and Sho didn't want to think about that…and Sho was thinking about that now and…and he wasn't going to go to a party for everyone in Tokyo HQ…not only them but everyone in Claw's Japanese branches….and just…..

He was not a girl and he did not wear dresses!

"I'm going to be Elsa and you're going to be Anna. Because we're siblings like they're siblings." Said Mob. There. Now there was no way that Shi could argue with that. It was the best party idea ever. They had to wear costumes, well it wasn't mandatory but it was still Halloween, and it made perfect sense for him to be Anna and her to be Elsa. This was probably going to be the last year that he would be able to fit into the costume. He was so big, now, and so was she….so they should do this while they still could. Before they finished growing up and became adults and stuff.

"…huh?" asked Sho. That made zero sense! So what if Anna and Elsa were sisters…he wasn't girl! He was a guy! If Anna was the little brother than he would wear the costume but she was a girl and he was a guy and…well it wasn't like anyone had ever looked up her dress and checked but…he knew that she was a girl and he was not a girl so just….

Seriously, big sis!?

"You still fit into my old Elsa dress so you can be Elsa, too, if you want. I know how you like to be the one in charge so you can be Elsa and I can be Anna…well I don't fit into the costume but maybe if I just wore her colors-" said Mob

"No, I mean…what the hell are you talking about? Me, be Anna? Why would you ever think that I would want to do that?" asked Sho. He was doing his best not to start yelling. He wasn't going to yell and scream at her…even though he wanted to. He wanted to take her and scream at her and tell her that he hated playing this game and he hated wearing dresses and that he was not a girl…but he wasn't going to yell at her because he wasn't that person anymore. He had to be better than that.

"Because they're sisters." Said Mob simply. Didn't get it? They were sisters and he was her little brother, which was like having a little sister but her being a boy, and this was a good idea….right? Or maybe not….but she really wanted to do this. She wanted to do this and…well this was the last time that they would ever be able to do this…because next year she would be twelve and he would be eleven and they'd be too big for this….maybe.

She hated it when they got too big for things.

Sometimes. Sometimes getting older was nice. She was old enough to be in charge of the house. She made all the rules and she could take care of Sho all on her own…but she was too big for Frozen now. She was too big for her Elsa costume, they didn't make them in her size anymore,

"Because….they're sisters? Anna is the little sister, a girl, because sisters were girls. I'm your little brother, not your little sister." Said Sho. Maybe she was just going crazy or something….that was the only explanation. Why else would she have thought that this was a good idea? Now that he'd said something she could move onto something else…or something.

"I know that you're not my little sister but you still fit in the dress so I thought that we could-" said Mob. She didn't know how to say it. She couldn't even fully describe it to herself. This feeling that…tie was passing. Maybe it was all this talk about birthdays. Shimazaki was thirty one which was a lot older than she was, she was only eleven still, but next year she would be twelve and then thirteen and eventually she would be thirty one too. She would be thirty one and Sho would be thirty and then they would be adults...and it didn't scare her. Not like how she was afraid of things like Sho dying or dad dying or her friends dying….this was more like….something that was happening that she didn't want to happen…but she also did. She wanted to grow up. She wanted to get taller and be a real adult and treated like a real adult, not like a kid who was also sort of like an adult, and it would be nice but…but when you grew up you left so many things behind and…and she knew that it didn't even make sense in her head so she knew not to say anything to Sho. He wouldn't get it and if he did then she didn't want him to. She didn't want him to feel this way. It was bad enough that she felt this way.

"Well stop thinking! I'm not wearing a dress in front of everyone!" said Sho. He shouted. He shouldn't have shouted. He had been trying since he had been nine to stop shouting either. That wasn't the person that he wanted to be…but neither was this, he pulled at the dress that she had put on him. He was Sho, not Shoko, and he wanted to be Sho…and he wanted to be Sho more than he wanted to be a version of himself that didn't shout….

But he still shouldn't have shouted at her.

She took a step back from him. She stepped on the opened sketchbook that he had left on the floor. He didn't care about that sketchbook he cared about her. About how she was looking at him. That was the way that he looked at dad…the way that everyone looked at dad…and he was not dad. He was not dad, he was Sho, and he should have been nicer to her.

"But you're so pretty, Sho." said Mob. Sho had yelled at her…but that as ok. He yelled at her sometimes. That was fine. Sometimes people yelled at each other. She didn't care if he yelled at her just spa long as he was happy…and he wasn't happy right now…but he could be. She just…had to figure out how to make him happy again. That was her job, to make people happy, and maybe he would be happier at the party. Yes, maybe that would be the thing.

"….never say that to me ever again." said Sho. He didn't shout that time, and he didn't want to shout, but he also didn't want to hear her say anything like that ever again. He looked at himself in the wardrobe mirror. He had on this dress and...and he still looked like a boy. He wasn't a girl and he wasn't pretty and…and he was just weird…but he wasn't a girl. Just because he liked…well it didn't matter who he liked because he just…he was Sho, not Shoko!

"But you are. You'd make a really pretty girl and-" said Mob. She knew that he was upset and she didn't get it. They played this game together before and he hadn't ever really liked it.

"I said shut up!" said Sho. He shouted again and…and he shouldn't have done that. He knew that he should not have done that. He knew that he should not have been that sort of person and he knew that he was a jerk….but he at least hadn't hit her. He could at least be glad about that. He hadn't hit her and…well that was what had happened. He made the room shake…and he hardly ever lost control of his powers…but he didn't hit her.

"Oh….ok. I'm sorry. You don't have to wear that if you don't want to." Said Mob. She knew that she had pushed him too far. He hardly ever lost control over his powers like that…and she didn't want him ever to have to deal with that…and se had really messed p there…but that was ok. She would stopped pushing for this and then they would both be ok. There. That was just the way that it was going to be now.

"No…no. Sorry…I shouldn't have yelled like that…." Said Sho. He pulled at the bottom of the dress. He could do this. He could wear this…if it made her happy…if it made her stop looking at him like that. If it made her stop looking at him like he was dad or something. He looked at himself….and he didn't look like dad at least…even though she was looking at him like he did. He looked like himself….like himself if he was a girl….he looked like Shoko….even though he wasn't Shoko. He was Sho. As much as she wanted him to be Shoko he couldn't be but…well he could try….even if he wasn't the little sister that she wanted…

The little sister that they had.

This should have been little sis here in this dress. She should have been there with them…she should have been Shoko…or just Mukai because that was her name and…and she should have been there. But she couldn't be. She was with her own mom and she had her own life and…and she should have stayed. She should have stayed with them and…and stuff.

"I shouldn't have tried to make you wear the Anna dress….you're right. You're a boy….sorry." said Mob

"No, no, I shouldn't have yelled at you like that…and I'll wear the dress…" said Sho. The things he did for love. He had yelled at her and wearing a dress was what he had to do to make it up to her. He shouldn't have yelled. This was all his fault. She was just trying to have a little sister and stuff….and they did have one…well a pretend one…but only he had one. She didn't know. She didn't know about baby sis, about where she was, and about how if she got on a rain right now she could be in Seasoning City before the sun went down all the way. She didn't know and she couldn't know because then dad would know….and Sho knew that dad couldn't know….and big sis…well she wanted to know and she should have known but she didn't so….

So the least that Sho could do was put on a dress and pretend to be her little sister.

So that was what he did. He let her put the headband with the braids on his head. He let her squish his feet into the plastic dress up shoes. He let her do all of that because she didn't have a little sister to do this too. He couldn't wait until she grew up and had a kid to do this to. Having a kid was like having a little brother or sister, maybe, he didn't know because he was too young to have any kids. He did have a little sister though and that seemed sort of like having a kid. Someone who was smaller than you, someone who you had to take care of, and someone who looked up to you and who wanted to be like you….

When they were little at least.

He used to look up to dad…and he still did but only because even though he'd grown since he had been a little kid dad was still way taller. When he had been little though he had wanted nothing more than to be like his dad…but now he knew better. He knew that dad sucked and when Sho grew up and ruled the world he would be nothing like him. He wouldn't hit his kids or yell at them or make them feel like the gum that you found on the bottom of your shoes. He would love them no matter what they were like, or who they liked, or….or anything! He was going to be just as nice to his own kids as he was to little sis….

And as nice as big sis was to him.

"Ok, now you're ready to go. See? You make a great Anna…but you're not Anna. You're a boy. I never meant to say that you were a girl, alright?" said Mob as she finished off brushing down Sho's hair so his braids would hand right. It looked funny, brown braids and red hair, but she didn't say that Even if Sho didn't want to be pretty she sure wasn't going to tell him that he wasn't. He was her little brother and she always wanted him to be happy and to feel good about himself. Even though he wasn't a girl he wasn't going to tell him that he looked bad. She was his big sister and big sisters did not talk like that to their little brothers.

Especially not to the best little brother in the whole world.

He really was. He was such a good little brother that he even put this dress on, this costume, even though he didn't want to. He did this just to make her happy. She liked that, that he cared about her, because that was important. Caring about people. Caring enough about people to do things to make them happy. He as such a good person like that…

He was the greatest little brother in the whole world.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, come on. Let's go to the party already before they run out of food or the line for the haunted house gets too long or something." Said Sho as he opened the bedroom door with his powers.

"Don't worry, they can't start without us." Said Mob

"Without dad, you mean." Said Sho

"No, without us…well without me since I need to start the party. Dad isn't coming. He says that he only has to go to parties that 'require his attention' and this doesn't." said Mob. She wished that dad would have come with. He wanted to stay home since he didn't like people and parties. He liked to be on his own or with people who really trusted. He didn't say the last part about people who he really trusted but she knew him and she knew that he could only really be himself around her, Fukuda, or Hatori.

She felt bad for him sometimes.

She was shy too, she didn't like big groups of new people, but she was always happy to have new friends. She had six friends now and she was only eleven. Dad only had two friends and he was forty four, and he had only made his second friend just that year. She wished that he could have been more like her, that he could realize how friendship made everything in your life better, but he wasn't like that. He liked work and being the boss and he had been working and he had been the boss for so long that he didn't know how to be anything else…and that was very sad…

And she was so glad that Sho wasn't like that.

"That's good. He's no fun at parties anyway. He didn't even stay for the last one…and the last one was a lot different from this one….I mean how it's going to be….right?" asked Sho. He didn't want this to be like the last party….so maybe it was better than he was dressed like this. If he had to be around other kids then they would probably avoid him if he was dressed like this…and that was for the best. He didn't want to be pulled into any coatrooms ever again.

"Yes, it's going to be different. No backers this time, just people who work for us." Said Mob

"So no kids?" asked Sho

"No…nobody has kids…not really…sorry. But don't worry, we'll move to London after this and you can hang out with Emmy and she probably has friends, she's nice, and you could be friends with her friends." Said Mob. Sho….well he didn't seem very happy…even though that should have been good news for him. She didn't know how it worked, really, him being in love with Shimazkai and also having a girlfriend, but he must have been in love with Emmy too and he should have been really happy to see her…but he didn't seem very happy about that…but maybe he just wanted to get on with the party or something like that.

"….cool. Whatever. Come on, let's go." Said Sho. He tugged on big sis. He didn't want to talk about that. He didn't want to think about that. He didn't want to move. He wanted to stay here and never, ever move again. Not because he particularly liked Tokyo, no, just because he didn't want to have to deal with…stuff.

Complicated stuff.

Lying stuff. Fukuda said that it wasn't lying, well it was, but it wasn't the bad kind of lying. Fukuda had said that he had to make a pragmatic choice…and he did. He needed a girlfriend, he was nice to Emmy, she liked him, so why not be her girlfriend for the rest of his life…or whatever. That wouldn't have been so bad…aside from the lying…but he had to lie. He had to lie to her and everyone else…and it sucked but it was what he had to do.

And you had to do what you had to do.

Like go to a party in a dress because you loved your sister very much and you were kind of the reason that she didn't have a little sister anymore. He had to be the little sister now because big sis thought that little sis was gone forever, off to parts unknown like mom was, and as much as he wanted to rip this dress off and tell her to never do this to him again he didn't. It wasn't fair for her not to have little sis…but little sis had to be a secret from her. She liked dad and dad liked her and she would end up telling dad about little sis and then ad would know….and that wouldn't be good for anyone…especially baby sis…

So sometimes it was better to just go with it.

"Bye dad! We're leaving!" said Mob as she made it to the genkan. She felt dad moving, he had been sitting at the kitchen table doing 'important work' which knowing him could have been Minecraft or it could have been real work. She didn't want to stop in and have him see her off. He might have either gotten into it with Sho, like usual, or he would have just tried to get her to stay with him. He could be so clingy sometimes…well he did love her…but it got to be a lot and, well, he should have come if he wanted to spend time with her.

Maybe he was coming….she could hear and feel him getting up.

She put on her shoes and waited. Dad might have been in one of his moods again, the clingy kind not the yelling at Sho kind, and she didn't want him to be sad and stuff….and also it would have been rude to just leave like that. So she waited. She wasn't going to take her shoes off and go to him, then she would just have to put them back on again, so she waited for him….but it was a small house and she didn't have to wait long. Dad rounded the corner from the kitchen, and he was carrying a big box, so he must have gotten her another present….

She really wished he would stop getting her presents already….or at least not before Christmas.

She knew that it made Sho feel bad to see dad being so nice to her. She felt bad, too, for Sho. Dad was never this nice to him. Dad only got him things for Christmas and his birthday and even then only things that he had put on his list. Dad could be such a jerk sometimes, not that it was nice to think about her dad like that, and she just wished that he would realize it…but he didn't….

And that was why he only had one box in his hands, not two.

"Wait, I have something for….you…." said Suzuki. It had been difficult to get this made so quickly, his present for Shigeko, and he had almost missed his chance to give it to her. He had been excited for this moment, the moment when she opened the box and her whole aura just lit up, when she opened the box and saw what he'd had made for her….and now it felt like…

Well he had nothing to be excited about in this moment.

"Dad, what's wrong? Did you change your mind? Do you want to come too?" asked Mob. No. Not now. She knew what it meant when his aura looked like that…and she did not want to have to fix this right now. The best way to fix that was to spend time with him and stuff but she didn't have time to spend with him. She knew that it was mean, her not having time for her own dad, but it was the truth. She had a party to get started. She had people counting on her for stuff…and also she really wanted to go to this party and not just…deal with…whatever it was that had set dad off this time.

"No…just….your brother is in a dress." Said Suzuki simply. A dress was an article of clothing. That was all. An article of clothing with no partitions for legs. Like a yukata. Yes, a dress was just like a yukata only it wasn't a yukata and was typically worn by women and girls and his son was neither a woman nor a girl and that was why, if Shigeko hadn't been there, he would have pulled that dress over his Son's head and tell him to go and put on boy's clothing before people stared at him and talked about him.

But Shigeko was there so he did no such thing.

"Wow dad, you should be a detective or something." Said Sho rolling his eyes. He knew that look. Dad wanted to kill him. That was his 'I'm going to beat up my only son' look. Sho knew it well. He wanted to step closer to big sis, she would protect him, but he didn't. This was just dad. He knew how to deal with dad. Besides, when he got older dad would pay. Every time ad hit him or yelled at him or told him that he was just more fuel for the fire. One day when dad was old and Sho was all grown up then he would pay…and pay he would…somehow…with interest.

Because the fight would be very interesting.

"Sho." said Mob. She tapped his aura. She needed this to just go well. How hard was it to walk out the door? Well very hard, it seemed, when you were a member of this family…and that was a mean way to think but that was just how she felt.

"Why are you letting him dress like that?" asked Suzuki motioning towards Son. He had on a dress and some fake braids and…and the shoes and…and he knew that clothing was just clothing…but clothing wasn't just clothing and….and now he was worried even though he had no reason to worry….but was and…and he hated worrying about things. He hated worry in general.

"Because now we match. He's Anna and I'm Elsa. It's a group costume. What's in that box? Is it for me?" asked Mob changing the subject. She was getting better at that. Sometimes, when it came to dad, the best thing to do was just to change the subject and hope that he got distracted. He needed to get distracted, and soon, because she was not going to have this talk with him again. Sometimes boys wore dresses, sometimes girls wore pants, and they was alright. If he needed it explained it again then maybe he should just talk to Minegishi. They knew about stuff like this.

"It's a gift for you….I had one of those dresses made from you like you used to wear…just….put your brother in different clothes." Said Suzuki with another wave of his hand. Son had clothes. He had a whole wardrobe of clothes. If none of his clothes fit then Suzuki would personally go out and buy him an entirely brand new wardrobe right this moment. Anything to get him back to…well to normal. As normal as his son was capable of being.

"No. Big sis wants me to wear this and-" said Sho. He wanted to take this off right this second. He wanted to take this off and just…never put it back on again…even though it would hurt big sis…but he also didn't want to follow dad's orders. He thought that just because he was dad, and the boss pf everyone that he just got to be a bossy asshole dick hole bastard bitch jerk. Well he wasn't going to boss Sho around! Not now!

"Sho. No." said Mob. She grabbed his hand and tapped his aura. She knew what was coming and she knew that she was the only one who could make it stop. The only person in the entire world. Mom couldn't even stop dad when he got like this. She hadn't been able to stop dad when he got mad, she hadn't known or been able to distract him, and she hadn't been able to calm Sho down…but Mob could.

"Yes, I agree. No. Put your brother in something else…now." Said Suzuki. Good. She was on the same page as he was, finally. She would put him in some other clothes, and maybe rinse him off a little too because he was starting to smell terrible again, and then everything would be back to normal in the household and he could forget all together that Son had ever been wearing a dress in the first place. There. Everything had worked out on it's own.

"Dad-" said Mob. Why did he have to be so weird about this? Sometimes boys wore dresses. Sometimes they wore pants. Sometimes they wore yukatas, too, and robes and kilts and grass skirts….and all of those things were like dresses. Also boys could wear dresses if they wanted to. Clothes were just clothes, that was all. Minegishi had said so and they knew a lot of things about a lot of things.

"It's fine, I'll wear my Halloween shirt. It won't kill me." Said Sho. He knew that big sis hated fighting. He knew that he didn't want to be the reason that big sis and dad fought…and he also knew that for as much as he wanted to make dad pay he was still way too young, too small, so the best thing to do would just be to change clothes….yes, he was doing this because it was for the best….

And also he really didn't want to have to wear a dress to this party.

"Sho….ok." said Mob. She let go of Sho's hand and lt him go. He hadn't wanted to get all dressed up with her in the first place…and also she didn't want Sho and dad to fight. They were on their way to a party and they were going to get there in a good mood…and being in a good mood was important…and fighting was not so…so no fighting!

So she let Sho go back to their room.

"You shouldn't let him wear things like that…now open your gift." Said Suzuki. He handed her the box, finally, but she didn't open it. She just stared at him. She held it in her arms and she stared up at him.

"Sometimes boys wear dresses, dad, and that's ok. You shouldn't be mean to Sho like that. I don't like it." Said Mob. She had to just get to the point. She knew how dad was. She knew that he liked things to be a certain way…and she knew that sometimes the way that he wanted things to be was wrong. Like with this…or other things that Sho…other things about him that dad didn't know about.

"I wasn't mean to him. I could have picked him up and undressed him myself. I could have told him to take that off before people started to think things about him that aren't true. I even could have forbade him from leaving this house. I didn't. I was perfectly nice to him and he left to change of his own accord. Now, please, open your gift." Said Suzuki

"I'm not opening this until you promise to never talk like that again. I didn't like it." Said Mob. Dad…well he had said, before, that he would never get mad at her again…but was starting to look like he was mad at her….and she almost put up a barrier…but she didn't. She had no reason to. Dad would never hurt her. He had said so.

"Shigeko….Daughter….please just open your gift already." Said Suzuki. He didn't like this, the creeping feeling…the feeling which was creeping up on him. He could feel his control starting to slip. He felt…he didn't like whatever it was that he felt. She just…she did not get to make…declarations…like this….

But she was.

"Are you going to promise me that you'll never talk to Sho like that again?" asked Mob. She was pushing, she knew that she was pushing, but she was pushing for a good reason. Sho was her little brother and there were no better reasons in the entire history of reasons besides little brothers.

"I…can't make that promise. I don't want him to wear things like that and…and he is my son and he is not beyond my command and I don't want him to wear things like that." Said Suzuki

"I don't know why you care so much about what Sho wears." Said Mob

"I don't want people to think things about him that aren't true. Your brother is not…well I don't want to get into it with you. Your brother is normal and I don't want people to think that he's anything other than normal." Said Suzuki

"Sho is normal." Said Mob. She may have been mean sometimes, he also could have sometimes done strange things, but that wasn't what dad was talking about. She knew that he was talking about how she and Sho played dress up sometimes. Well that wasn't weird and dad…..well dad was the weird one for thinking that it was weird.

"Your brother is normal, you're correct, and he's not a homosexual and I don't like having to worry about that. So please just accept your gift already." Said Suzuki

"I'll accept it if you promise that if Sho ever told you that he was like that, that he liked boys, you promise not to freak out or punish him…or do anything other than accept him." said Mob. She didn't tell him that Sho was the sort of boy who loved boys, and also that he was in love with Shimazaki, so Sho's secret was safe from dad but…but one day his secret would come out. Secrets always had a way of coming out and…and when Sho's came out then dad had better not have even thought about making a thing out of it. For his own sake.

"I…can't do that." Said Suzuki. What….what? She knew that….what she was saying made no sense but she didn't seem to know that. She asked him to…well she was obviously speaking in hypotheticals….and there was no point in it and….and he didn't even understand….anything….anymore.

"Then I can't accept this present. Here." Said Mob. She tried to pass him back the box but she hit his barrier. He was acting all worried and stuff…and she had no idea why. So what if Sho liked boys? That wasn't anything to worry about….but Minegishi said that old people were weird and stuff. Dad was really old, forty five in March, and of course he was just…well that was no excuse! He wasn't….he wasn't just anyone, he was her dad, and she just…well she expected better from him…and stuff.

"No…accept it…accept the gift and…and I have no idea what you accepting my gift has to do with your brother being a-" said Suzuki. He needed to make sense of this. He wished that Fukuda had been there. Fukuda was good at explain these things to him. Why was she getting so involved in this hypothetical situation? It wasn't like hypotheticals had any bearing on reality….and she maybe…she was maybe being very strange right now…and also…also he had this pain right there in his chest and…and he didn't care for this at all….

"Because, dad, if you can't accept Sho for who he is then I can't accept anything from you…or you…at all." said Mob. That was….she wished that she could take it back as soon as she said it, it was the meanest thing that she had veer said to another human being I her life….but she meant it.

She loved her dad.

But she loved her little brother more. She loved him more than she loved dad and she knew that, once the truth got out, dad would be terrible to him...and she wasn't going to have Sho go through that. Sho did not need to be hurt like that. Sho did not need that in his life and she was supposed to take care of Sho….and it wouldn't be right to…to keep Sho in a place…where dad treated him like that…where he was hurt…and dad had stopped hurting him and….

And she had to keep it that way.

"What…what are you telling me?" asked Suzuki. He was bad at this. He was bad at these talking things. Terrible. He must have misheard her. She was standing there in front of the door…and it almost….almost sounded like…like she had said that unless he agreed to be kind of Son in this hypothetical situation in which he was a homosexual….she would leave him…and that…that made no sense.

Women were so confusing.

They just…were. There had been a book written, years and years ago, that said women were from Mars and men were from Venus…or maybe it had been the other way around…well that was just a hypothetical….women sure did love hypotheticals…and women were just…he didn't understand them. No matter what relation to him…or what age…women were just…odd. They were just…odd. Odd in every single way and….and he didn't understand….her or…or how he felt and….

And he hated this feeling.

A cage. He needed to build her a cage…or put her on a leash…or something. Something to keep her with him. She could….she could leave him and…and he couldn't let that happen again. He just…he could see her walking out that door. He could see her walking right out that door and just….there was this…cold…emptiness….inside of him. It hurt. It stabbed at his organs…and his soul and…he felt like he could reach down and rip them out and…and he felt like…he wanted….

He put a barrier up around them.

"Accept Sho for who he is or I leave…with Sho." said Mob. This wasn't…anything she had ever wanted to say but….but dad was…he was scared. She could see it in his eyes and his aura…and also his barrier was close around her and…and she could have reached out and touched it. He was scared and she was making him scared and…and she had no idea where she would even go….with Sho…and away from her friends…and she just…she knew that she wouldn't be able to and….and she knew that she would have to try because…..because….

Because she had spent her whole life watching dad hurt Sho….and she couldn't take it anymore.

"Wh….what did you just say to me?" asked Suzuki. No. She had just…there was no way that she just…had just…she did not get to SAY that to him! She loved…she loved…she loved him! she loved him and she was not going to leave and…and he would….he would dig a hole and bury her in it and then…well not a hole because she needed to breathe so some sort of bunker and…and they just….she just….

This was about a god damned hypothetical scenario!

"I'll leave forever if you ever make Sho feel bad about who he is or hurt him about….or hurt him for any reason and….and that's just what I'll do." Said Mob. Dad looked like someone had just died in front of him and…and he just…he felt like….he didn't know what this felt like. He felt all scared and…and also….she could feel his aura and she had no idea what his aura was all about and….and she should have taken it back and…and she wasn't mom.

She wasn't going to….

But if she had to…if he hurt Sho and…and she…was that why Mom had left them? Because dad had been so mean and….no. That made no sense. If she had been worried for Sho then she would have taken Sho with her…and…no. Mob…Mob was the only person who could be there for dad and…and she just…even if mom had asked her to come with then she wouldn't have. Dad…he needed her and she needed him….

But Sho needed her more.

"You…you can't do that!" said Suzuki. He hadn't meant to shout at her…or maybe he did. He wanted to shout at her…he wanted to….he wanted to slap her across the face…and he had…when he'd been younger….and she'd ben younger….but she wasn't…he cared for her too much….and one did not raise their hands to women anyway…and she was…he wasn't going to punish her…and he loved her so much and….

And he couldn't lose her.

"Don't make me!" said Mob. Dad had shouted at her…and he hadn't shouted at her in so long…and that was why she had shouted back. She had been surprised and…and dad's aura had gotten all mad like he was getting ready to hit her…and he hadn't done that in ears and…and she didn't want that to ever happen again…and he had promised that it wouldn't and…and he had to keep his promises…and if he didn't then….better her than Sho.

"This…Shigeko….we are talking about hypotheticals here. Your brother has a girlfriend who he loves…as much as a ten year old can…and this is a pointless conversation…." Said Suzuki. He stopped shouting. He calmed down. He calmed down and he just…he had to be calm because he could not raise his voice to her. He had never once raised his voice to Masami and he would not raise his voice to Shigeko. That was…that was not the way that he should have spoken to her. She just…she was not only his daughter but his everything…she had become his everything….and she just….could not leave and…and he had to keep her here and…

And he loved her more than anything.

"If it's pointless then just promise me that you'll always accept Sho for who he is." Said Mob. She was glad that he yelling was over…and when this whole thing was over then she would do something nice for him. She would play games with him all day or watch his boring shows or let him dress her up like mom and brush her hair…and then he would be happy and she would have made all of this up to him.

"Fine, I promise….now you just…open that present. Now." Said Suzuki. She was right. If this was pointless, hypothetical scenarios were pointless, then it didn't matter what he did and did not agree to. He had no idea what all of that had even been about but…well he was just so happy to have been able to get past all of that…and now she could finally open her gift.

"See dad? That wasn't so hard….and I'll open it now…and thank you for listening. Now I can stay forever." Said Mob as she opened the box. She undid the bow and pulled the top from the bottom….and for a moment she thought that she had opened up a box of tissue paper…but once she pulled it apart she saw a….a blue dress….and she took it out of the box and….

Wow!

"Thanks dad! I love you!" said Mob. She put the box down and held the dress out in front of herself. There was, in her hands, and Elsa dress. A real Elsa dress An Elsa dress that would fit her…it seemed…and she just…she hadn't even thought that they even made dresses that could fit her and…and there was no label so…so this had been made for her…dad had made this for her and….

And she had been so mean to him.

"Daddy….thank you so much for this. I love you so much….and I'm sorry that I was so mean to you before. I won't ever leave you. I love you so much." Said Mob as she hugged her dad. Dad took a second to wrap his arms around her .He was holding her and she held him, with her aura. His aura was big and his barrier….she could still feel it. Like she was one of the flies that Sho sometimes trapped under glass. She wanted…she wanted his aura to be gone and she also…she also wanted to be held by him forever because he was her dad and she never wanted to leave him…

But she also really wanted to go to the party.

She could feel Sho getting closer. She let go of dad….well she tried to. Dad was still holding onto her…and he was really strong…and she tried to step back but she couldn't. She didn't blame him. This was her fault. She was the one who had made him sad….well he was the one who had been mean to Sho…and he was the one who would have been mean to Sho if he knew that he liked boys….so she had been right to be mean…but there was no scenario when it was ok to be mean…but she had still…

Her head hurt. She needed a drink….and some room to breathe…and to get out of this hug already.

"I changed. Can we go now, sometime before next Halloween please?" asked Sho. He could see dad and big sis hugging….and their auras had been all together…and Sho didn't care. He didn't care what big sis and dad got up to. Their auras had been together like they had been fighting but obviously he had been wrong and…and stuff and now…well now he was here and…..and they had to go!

"Dad…we have to go now. I'll see you later, alright? I'll see you later and…um…if you get lonely then I'll ask Fukuda to come and keep you company…alright? But I have to go." Said Mob as she broke away from dad. She knew that she should have stayed with him until he felt better…but she didn't have that kind of time and also….well she knew that it was mean but part of her wanted to tell dad that he was supposed to be the adult and she was supposed to be the kid and he should have been comforting her…but of course she didn't.

"Yeah, happy Halloween or whatever. Later." Said Sho as he grabbed big sis's hand and pulled her out the door. She was going to stay there all night with dad if he let her…and he did a lot of things for her but missing this party wasn't going to be one of them. The party couldn't start without her so they had to go and they had to go right now.

He loved her a lot, and he did a lot of things for love, but missing Shimazaki's birthday party/the Halloween party was not going to be one of them.